Short Stack Stories
by Candyland
Summary: Random minifics, mostly silly and pointless, though occasionally serious. —Pretty Pretty Princess: Things just wouldn't be right in Aoko's world if Kaito wasn't messing with her somehow.—
1. Conditions for Peace

**AN: **This will be the first of many, I assure you. I did something like this for DBZ, back in my fangirl days, and I know other authors have done this same thing. So here's my take on it—random little mini-fics, updated whenever I get an idea. I already have a few set aside that I'll be throwing up here at random intervals. Be warned—some of them are VERY weird, and some of them just poke at the show's inherent little quirks, numerous as they are.

This one was inspired by **Suppi-chan's** CCS fic of the same name (because I am wholly uncreative). No ownie. Hope you likey.

_o_

**Conditions for Peace**

Ran refused to look at Shinichi. Flat-out wouldn't even glance in his approximate direction.

The newly-returned, newly-tall high school detective watched her stare at the wall, and sighed dejectedly. This was not going to end well, he just knew it. He absolutely knew it. Maybe if he was lucky, he would escape with his head still attached to his shoulders…

Kazuha stepped into the gap between them, placing herself directly in the line of fire, should things get ugly. "All right, we all know why we're here. You two," she pointed emphatically at the estranged couple on either side of the room, "are not leaving until you kiss and make up." She paused, then grinned devilishly. "Emphasis on _kiss_."

Heiji, leaning against the locked door, nodded his agreement.

Ran hmph-ed and refused to look at anyone.

"Ran-chan," Kazuha pleaded, "what will it take for you to forgive Kudo-kun?"

Ran snorted. "I'll forgive him when pigs fly."

Kazuha was about to respond when Heiji strolled past her, a bewildered look on his face. He opened the window, reached out, seemed to fish around for something, muttering to himself, and when he pulled his arms back inside, he was holding…a pig.

With white wings.

"Ummm…nee-chan?" Heiji said, holding it out for her closer inspection.

"Oink," said the befeathered porker.

Ran stared at it blankly. "Forgiven." After all, stranger things _had_ happened…

The pig chose that moment to fly out of Heiji's hands, and the four teens engaged in the chase. In all the chaos, no one noticed a young man with unruly brown hair walking down the sidewalk, whistling jauntily and expertly shuffling a deck of cards.

_o_

**AN: **Leave it to Kaito…see ya next time!


	2. You Drive Me Craaaaaaaazy

**AN: **Inspired by yet another conversation with Fred the Mutant Pickle. We's just nutty…no ownie!

_o_

**You Drive Me Craaaaaaazy…**

"…I keep seeing weird things," Ran said hesitantly.

"Tell me all about it."

"Well…" she paused. "I look at Conan, and…I see Shinichi. I hear Shinichi's voice. And then it kind of…fades into Conan. I mean, I know he's Conan, not Shinichi. Shinichi's missing. Stupid boy…I'm gonna beat the living hell out of him when he gets back." She stopped. "But the point is that Conan always is turning into Shinichi and back before my eyes, and…"

She sat bolt upright. "Why are you looking at me like that? Don't look at me. Don't look at me…" She dropped to the floor and curled up into the fetal position, wailing, "So many eyes…the walls have ears…put my earmuffs on the cookie…put the earmuffs on the cookie, dammit!"

Outside the door to the psychiatric ward, Conan (aka Shinichi) shook his head sadly.

Who would have thought that he would _literally_ drive her crazy?

_o_

**AN: **The "earmuffs on the cookie" this is really a "Spot the Reference" game. But sometimes you really gotta wonder if Ran ever gets tired of seeing Shinichi's face plastered there behind Conan…or has a slightly different reaction…laters!


	3. A True Master Thief

**AN: **So I was talking with **CiulineIhmenjo**, and he pleaded with me to post something. So I am—not a huge post, but a post, nonetheless. I hope you guys find this one amusing, because I really do. Inspired by a strange conversation with my friend Ryann.

I don't own Conan…or Kid.

_o_

**A True Master Thief**

Criminal 1412, alias Kaitou Kid, swept past the crowd, laughing and chatting cheerily at the small army of police officers behind him. In one hand was clutched that evening's prize, a large, gaudy ruby. He skipped happily, keeping a considerable lead between them.

He scampered around the corner and found himself facing a considerable crowd. Making a split-second decision, he dove in head-first, ducking down low to run through the forest of legs. But as long as he was there, why not cause some chaos?

Various people jumped as the Phantom Thief stole various things from their person.

"Stop, thief!"

"My wallet!"

"My purse!"

_"My virginity!"_

In spite of the fact that the chase was still on and the police were still after him, Kid skidded to a halt and whirled around, cape billowing dramatically. "Hey, I'm not _that_ good!"

_o_

**AN: **Thanks again to Ryann. CI, I hope you're happy. Now I'm going to go back to working on my bulletin board. An RA's work is never done, is it…ciao for now!


	4. Fun with Quizilla

**AN: **This one is wholly blamed on my friend Torie. Minor language warning. No ownie.

_o_

**Fun with Quizilla**

Pause.

Click.

Pause.

Click.

When her father had finally decided to upgrade and get a computer, Ran had been delighted to have the Internet right at her fingers at long last. And within days, she had stumbled across a website chock-full of random quizzes.

She was _hooked_.

When Hattori-kun and Kazuha-chan had dropped in for a visit, she had played the gracious hostess, and invited them to join in. Even Conan-kun had gotten in on the action, and there were many laughs, gasps, and "what the hell's" abounding.

Now it was Ran's turn again. "I think I'll take—oh, this one!" She clicked. Everyone peered.

The Bitch Quiz.

Conan shuddered. _I hope this ends well…_

And she began, while everyone watched over her shoulder.

_Click, click, clickety, click._

Within a few minutes, she was done and waiting for her results. When it popped up, she frowned.

"I'm a bitch?" she said, confused. That was what the screen said, anyway.

Kazuha-chan patted her shoulder. "That quiz is wrong. You're not a bitch, you're Ran-chan!"

Hattori-kun nodded. "Yeah, don't worry. You're a sweetheart."

To everyone's amazement, Kazuha whirled on him with eyes blazing and the fires of Hell shooting up behind her. "No, she's Ran-chan! Get it right, asshole!"

The room went dead silent. Then, slowly, Ran moved from the chair and gestured for Kazuha to take a seat. "Would you like to try this one?"

_o_

**AN: **Yeeeeeeeah…these are the people I hang out with. _:laugh_ We have lots of fun!


	5. Win Some, Lose Some

**AN: **Written for the Many Cases, One Truth LJ community weekly challenge. Inspired by Kelly, my Muse of Randomness. This girl says the most random things—she makes me giggle, oft uncontrollably. Hope you likey—no ownie.

_o_

**Win Some, Lose Some**

"Brat hasn't gotten off the computer since we got it," Kogoro hmph-ed angrily.

Ran glanced over at her young charge, whose wide eyes were glued to the monitor. "I don't know what he's playing. He said Ayumi-chan lent him some games right after we got the new computer—I think he's playing those."

Leaving her father to mutter behind his newspaper, she headed over towards the desk, where Conan was enraptured by his game. But she was startled when he started talking to the computer screen. "What? No way! That can't be right!" The young boy flopped back in the chair, arms folded across his chest in a full-fledged pout. "That ending is impossible!"

Ran moved around and bent over him, concerned. "Conan-kun?"

"Stupidest ending ever," he complained, jutting an accusatory finger at the screen.

She peered at the screen, then picked up one of the CDs from the small pile on the desk and read the label. "Conan-kun, I know you like mysteries, but—"

"I hope the next one's better," he picked up a third disc and popped it into the drive. "The puzzles were good, but the ending was horrible. Maybe this one will be better."

As she watched him upload the next game, Ran briefly wondered if perhaps Conan-kun was taking these Nancy Drew games a little too seriously…

_o_

**PS. **Yes, there are Nancy Drew computer games. I've won them all! …absolutely no nerdiness here, nope nope nope! But I actually had one specific game in mind when I wrote this—the game itself was long and had a lot of tough puzzles—lots of fun. And then the ending totally dropped the ball. Oh well.


	6. Curiousity Killed the Katou

**AN: **I owe Liz for this one. This actually happened to her. No ownie.

_o_

**Curiousity Killed the Kat-ou**

Kaito had always been a curious child by nature. He didn't mean to make trouble or cause mischief. He didn't plan any of it. It usually just…you know, _happened_. And then Aoko-chan would…you know, _happen_ to try and clobber him.

But Aoko wasn't around at the moment. It was just him, looking at the fascinating things that Dad had brought back from his latest trip abroad. He'd gone to China for a show, and come back with loads and loads of neat stuff, which had inevitably been left sitting on a table in the living room, just waiting for a curious seven-year-old child to find and snoop through.

There were so many interesting things, but what interested him the most was the tiny pocket knife with the cool-looking dragon carved onto the handle. It was painted red, and had fangs and all that fun stuff. Kaito was instantly intrigued. Unfortunately, he couldn't quite get the blade out of the hilt.

So he did what any sensible, resourceful, curious child would do. He put it in his mouth…and used his teeth to pry the sharp blade open. He'd gotten it about halfway there when it slipped…

_SNAP!_

The spring-loaded blade snapped back into the handle. And somehow, Kaito had managed to cut his own tongue. He tasted something bitter. Blood?

The knife dropped from his fingers as he clasped his hands over his mouth and sprinted to the bathroom. He stuck his tongue out and looked at it in the mirror. Yup, bleeding. Tasted nasty.

At a loss, he filled the sink up with water, leaned over it, and stuck his tongue into the water, hoping and praying that the bleeding would stop. The water was certainly turning an interesting color…

It was a long moment later that the boy noticed a figure in the doorway. Namely, his father.

Toichi Kuroba watched his son for a moment before he dared to ask. "Son…what are you doing?"

With his tongue hanging out of his mouth, his response was barely understandable, but Toichi got it in the end. It roughly translated to: "I'm pretending to be a puppy. Go away."

There was a moment of silence as the magician leaned over the sink and took a really good look. Then he slowly stepped back and sighed, barely concealing his bemusement…or his amusement, for that matter. "I'm getting your mother."

"Arf arf."

_O_

**PS. **_In case you haven't noticed, I have some straaaaaaaaange friends. I love them all. They amuse and inspire me. I hug them all! Much love, thanks for tuning in, and I'll see ya next time!_


	7. Unneccessary Introductions

**AN: **Drabble attack! Just poking fun at one of those Conan things that I bet everyone overlooks…no ownie.

_o_

**Unneccessary Introductions**

"Allow me to do the introductions," the woman said cheerfully to Mouri Kogoro, gesturing towards the room full of people behind her. It was a dinner party—and if Conan's guess held right, one of those people would be stone dead within the hour.

"Wait, not necessary!" Ran said, leaning down to read the white writing on the blue rectangles that popped up in front of everyone. "I'll just read your nametags, thanks."

Conan interlocked his fingers together and put them behind his head. "Those things appear in front of everyone we meet. I wonder where they actually come from…"

_o_

**PS. **_I'm a nerd…thanks to all, and later!_


	8. Ding Ding Ding

**AN: **No ownie. This is a quasi-follow-up to the previous one. **Mistress Dizzy, **this one's for you.

* * *

**Ding Ding Ding**

Shinichi looked over the clues once more with that ever scrutinzing eye.

And then, the pieces suddenly clicked into place. His eyes widened. "That's it!"

_Ding!_

He stopped in mid-thought, and looked around. There, he'd heard it again!

It seemed like every single time he figured something out and cracked the case there was that strange dingy sound that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere all at once. And sometimes, the background behind him would go all black and this weird little white line would shoot across in sync with the noise. Every. Single. Time.

It was so bizarre…

* * *

**PS. **_More drabbly goodness._ _Mistress Dizzy made the comment on the previous one (about the nametags) that it was like if Conan heard the cool little dingy noise it always makes when he figures it out. Soooo…here you go. As I continue to attack the fourth wall with a bulldozer..._

_Much love!_


	9. Give Me a Clue

**AN: **The plunnies…this is almost turning into a mini-arc of Short Stacks. Behold, the "Candy-chan takes a bulldozer to the fourth wall" Arc! Ah, it's fun, though. This one goes out to **gohan757**, who released the plot-bunny on me. It attached itself to my leg and will not let go. Sharp teeth, they have. No ownie!

_o_

**Give Me a Clue**

Conan stared.

There was some bizarr-o mountain background with an enormous signpost on it. There was what looked like a photograph of him and Ran staring at the aforementioned signpost.

How weird…almost as weird as the dingy noise.

And out of the abyss, a psychotic-sounding voice echoed. "NEXT CONAN'S HINT!"

Conan jumped a mile…and then let out a _meep_ as he heard his own voice say, "Rival detective."

_Blink blink. _

"Rival detective?" he muttered. "…what about Hattori?"

Hell, screw Hattori (figuratively)—what the hell did _hint_ mean?

And who was the voice and how did they know his freakin' name?

**PS. **_I'm getting good at this drabble thing. And ya know what—there's another one all ready to go, right behind it! This particular "Next Conan's Hint" was for the episode where Hattori and Conan solve the case with the guy in bandages—right after the Kaitou Kid episode. I HEART whoever it is that does the voice for the "Next Conan's Hint" thing--it cracks me up! Thanks everyone, and much love!_


	10. Modus Operandis

**AN: **And I continue my brutal drabble-attack on the fourth wall with this lovely suggestion from **MichelleTherese **(read her story _The Kudou Files_, for it is GOOD! End plug.) No ownie!

* * *

**Modus Operandis**

While Megure-keibu was conferring with Mouri on the recent case, Kudo Shinichi (alias Conan) and Hattori Heiji went to work. This was an extremely unusual case for the two.

Conan studied the scene carefully, and frowned. "Hattori…look at this. The victim was stabbed once in the back, and left in the dumpster. That's it." He turned to his friend grimly. "Do you know what this means?"

Heiji nodded, the picture of sobriety. "Either Aoyama-sensei decided to be realistic and keep things simple for once, or the author's in the middle of finals week and is being lazy?"

"Exactly," Conan affirmed.

* * *

**PS. **_Yeeeeeah, haven't quite figured out why all the murders in this show are so complicated. Whatever happened to knocking the guy off and dropping them in the dumpster? Written whilst I was in the midst of finals, and beating my head against the wall. Thanks, and much love!_


	11. In Which Double Meanings Abound

**AN: **Rachel, this one is All. Your. Fault. That, and I think I've been reading a couple too many of Icka's fics, 'cause this seemed absolutely hilarious to me as I wrote it. I don't own Kaito or any of 'em.

_o_

**In Which Double Meanings Abound**

Hakuba glanced at the clock, looking uncharacteristically wistful. His stomach growled then, and his expression turned to vague chagrin. It was the last class before mealtime, but class hadn't started yet, so everyone was just lounging around a bit.

"Not lunchtime yet…" Kaito sighed from his perch on Hakuba's desk.

"Hmmm…" the British detective murmured.

"You could eat something now," Kaito piped brightly.

Nearby, Aoko and Akako watched the proceedings with vague interest.

"What would I eat?" Hakuba muttered darkly, shooting another look at the clock.

Kaito thought about it for a minute. "You could eat me!"

There was an audible _TWANG_ as Hakuba's spine snapped to rigid attention; he was now bolt-upright in his desk chair. He turned slowly, neck creaking every inch of the way, to give Kaito a horrified look. "I know I misheard that."

"No, you didn't," Kaito chirped, swinging his legs over the edge of Hakuba's desk and leaning his weight back on his hands so he could look up at the ceiling. "I said you could eat me. 'Cause I'm sweet!"

Hakuba swallowed. "I beg your pardon, but—"

"No, seriously!" Kaito cheered unabashedly. "I'm cute and sweet. I _know_ I'd taste good."

Akako leaned over Hakuba's shoulder and leered. "You know, I'm not touching the subtext of this conversation with the proverbial ten-foot pole." Hakuba expertly ignored the underlying implication.

Hakuba shook his head. "I refuse to have any part in this."

Kaito's unapologetic grin grew a little wider. "Oh, come on—just try a finger."

Hakuba was out of his desk and out the door fast enough to break the sound barrier. Akako vaguely heard him mumble something that sounded suspiciously like "bathroom."

All eyes swung to Kaito.

Kaito looked right back, the very picture of blamelessness. He smiled innocently. "What?"

_o_

**PS. **_Taken almost verbatim from a AIM conversation between me and Rachie-chan. I was in Hakuba's shoes, for those of you who were wondering. My reactions were pretty much the same, mostly because I was working on a take-home science midterm at the time and was ready to pull my hair out._


	12. This Little Light of Mine

**AN: **This one belongs to Duckie—aka my good buddy Jo, otherwise known as the other half my section in band. Curse her MSN name for inspiring this bit of utter stupidity. Much love to the Duckie, and much love to Gosho Aoyama for creating these characters…which I don't own.

* * *

**This Little Light of Mine…**

It was a strange sight, to say the least. Ran and Kazuha walked into the room to see Heiji and Conan both splayed out on their backs, fingers entwined behind their heads, staring at the ceiling.

"Okay, I'll bite," Ran said after a moment. "What're you doing?"

"Looking…" Heiji replied, not moving his eyes from the ceiling.

"…at what?" Kazuha asked a second later.

"That light…" Conan pulled one hand from beneath his head to point at the ceiling. "I think the light bulb is sending us a message in Morse Code." He returned his hand to its place as a pillow.

The girls looked at it for a second before Kazuha finally caved. "What's the message?"

Heiji answered, "I think it's saying…_Change me_…"

Ran sighed. "How bored are you guys?"

"Heeeeeelp…" Conan whined.

* * *

**PS. **_I've said it before, I'll say it again. I love my friends. The weirdness they bring to my life is just wonderful. Huggles to Duckie and to all the wonderful readers and reviewers. Thanks, all!_


	13. Size Doesn't Matter

**AN: **Hit me while I was playing Disney Scene It with a couple of my friends, and I just could not help myself. Props to Kat for giving me the last line. No ownie any characters or concepts mentioned herein.

* * *

**Size Doesn't Matter**

_Another crime scene_, Conan sighed. As he glanced around in search of anything that struck him as odd or irregular, his eyes dropped to the floor…and widened in surprise.

A dog ran by—a beagle. On its back were two mice, one rather round, and the other wearing what looked like a full Sherlock Holmes outfit. "Hurry, Dawson!" the mouse in the deerstalker called to his rotund companion. "The game is afoot! Faster, Toby!" The beagle barked in response, sliding across the floor and out the door.

Conan blinked. A…mouse detective? _Definitely_ irregular.

…finally, a detective shorter than he was!

* * *

**PS. **_For those of you who haven't seen The Great Mouse Detective, you're really missing out. It's a Disney classic, one of my all time faves. Yes, I'm a nerd—but I'm a fun nerd! And before anyone asks, I have no clue what Basil's doing in Japan. He just is. Thanks, and much love!_


	14. Pants or Something Like Them

**AN: **I heart LiveJournal. Inspired by socchan's LJ icon and a long comment conversation held on the MC1T community. For socchan and jeva-chan. No ownie.

* * *

**Pants, or Something Like Them**

Maybe he shouldn't have done that, Conan reflected.

…okay, he really shouldn't have done that. But it was just too great of an opportunity to pass up.

And Hattori had it coming. He truly did.

His friendly rival had shown up rather unexpectedly (with Kazuha in tow, of course). And now they were all standing in the middle of Mouri's office, talking. Or arguing, as the case may be.

And no one seemed to be paying any attention at all to the small child sitting behind the desk.

Conan growled. Stupid Hattori. Could at least say hello or something…

Now thoroughly bored, he opened the top drawer of Kogoro's desk, hoping to find the Idiot's hidden stash (…of candy) for something to occupy himself. And somehow—he wasn't quite sure how—but somehow, he'd found himself with an Exacto knife in his hot little hands. It was just staring at him, almost saying _Use me! Use me!_

He turned his head. Hattori was standing right there, his back to his chibified friend.

Conan shook his head rapidly. No, he couldn't do that. There was no way he could do that to Hattori! That would be horrible, irresponsible, and undeniably childish.

…right. And he was a child, wasn't he? And besides, he had to get an early start if he was going to get back at Hattori for everything he'd had to endure, from the height cracks to the constant screw-ups concerning his freakin' name…yes, Hattori had this coming. He totally deserved it.

Tiptoeing as quietly as possible on sneakered feet, he crept towards his friend, who was alternating between chatting with Ran and arguing with Kazuha. No one seemed to notice him. He got right behind them, and inwardly growled—how dare they not even acknowledge that he was there! The smile on his face was only slightly psychotic as he raised the blade…

_RIP!_

There was a tearing sound as the blade sliced through the fabric. After that, one little yank was all it took. And Heiji suddenly felt a draft.

Three pairs of teenaged eyes dropped.

Ran immediately covered her eyes. Kazuha…not so much. She just sort of stared.

She stared a lot.

It took Heiji a minute to register exactly what had happened—being a brilliant detective and all. Then he realized that his pants were currently residing around his ankles, and a small bespectacled boy was standing behind him, radiating false innocence.

And then it clicked. And Hattori got very, _very_ angry.

Apparently, he didn't like being pantsed.

Kazuha was still staring.

So now Conan was fleeing as fast as his short little legs would carry him while the irate Osakan chased him, swinging a katana at his head and screaming things that were unintelligible at best and downright unprintable at worst.

But there were a couple more things that plagued Conan as he ran for his life.

First of all, he realized that maybe he had been spending too much time around his young friends. Because this whole thing seemed absolutely hilarious, death threats aside. And secondly...

Aside from the fact that Hattori was currently not wearing pants (_snicker_), the scariest thing was that he had absolutely _no_ idea where Hattori had pulled that katana out from, anyway…

* * *

**PS. **_Socchan's icon is of Conan holding the Exacto knife with this really deranged look on his face—and it's straight from the manga. Kudos to **sapphirestars** for the last part. And no, I do not know from whence the katana came. I will leave that up to all you wonderful people out there to figure out. Feel free to tell me what you think (insert Biiiiiiiiiiiig Smile of Evil here) Thanks, and much love!_


	15. Back to Normal

**AN: **My friend Kat gave me a challenge: get Conan back to Shinichi in one hundred words, by whatever means necessary, no matter how silly or improbable it is. Just get him back to normal. No ownie.

* * *

**Back to Normal**

"Kudo-kun?"

"Haibara?"

"Are you alone?"

Shinichi glanced around. "Yes, I'm alone."

"I just made a discovery about the apotoxin."

Shinichi was now all ears. "What?"

"Well, I just discovered that it has an expiration date."

There was a pause. "…and?"

"If my calculations are correct, it should be wearing off any—" Haibara was cut off as a loud scream echoed over the phone line.

_Thump_.

Frowning, Haibara hung up and kicked back to wait for her turn.

An while later, Ran returned home and found Kudo Shinichi unconscious on the floor.

Naked.

And she couldn't decide _what_ to do.

* * *

**PS.** _I know it's not realistic. But that was the challenge. Shinichi back to himself in one hundred words on the nose! Hope you at least had a Chuckle of Evil, random as this may be. Much love! Later!_


	16. A Good Samaritan

**AN: **Talking to Fyliwion on LJ, and I plunnied myself. No ownie.

* * *

**A Good Samaritan**

It was late one evening, shortly after a heist, that Nakamori-keibu got the call.

Kaitou Kid had been seen fleeing from a home in a residential neighborhood. Said home was owned by an older woman whose husband had passed; she lived alone. Now in a panic, the police rushed to the house in question and pounded on the door, not sure what to think.

After a moment, a very elderly woman answered the door; she seemed very confused by the commotion on her doorstep. "What seems to be the trouble, officer?" she asked shakily after Nakamori showed her his badge.

"We got a call that Kaitou Kid was seen leaving your house a short time ago," the Inspector asked, raising his voice a bit to make sure she heard him.

She stared at him for a moment before comprehension dawned. "Oh…is that who that nice, charming young man was?" She smiled. "He said he was going to a costume party. My vision isn't the best, you understand." She laughed and pointed to spectacles hanging on a cord around her neck.

"What was he doing here?" Nakamori asked.

"Well," the elderly woman said, still chuckling. "He said he was passing by and saw I was having trouble. He was ever so polite! But if it was that thief that's always in the papers…that would explain it. You see, I lost my key, and I was locked out of my house, and he let me back in. I wondered how he got that door open…"

* * *

**PS. **_No clue.__Just thought it was an adorable idea. But now I have this really cute vision of Kaitou Kid stopping the police in mid-chase so he can help an old lady across the street or something. Much love!_


	17. The Man in Gray

**AN:** _Written for the **manycases1truth** LJ fanfic community—the challenge was crossovers. So I attacked. Here's the result. Hope you at least have a Chuckle of Evil. I don't own any of the characters in the following tragic tale. I just chucked them in a blender together, hit puree, and watched them dance :)_

**The Man in…Gray?**

"Doo doo doo—run away—doo doo doo—run away—doo doo doo—run away, run run run run run run away…" Kaitou Kid sang under his breath to the tune of the Can-Can as he skimmed along two blocks ahead of Nakamori and his goons. Just a little bit further, and he'd be at a prime place to take off from. Then he could glide all the way home.

He glanced back over his shoulder. They certainly weren't gaining on him—home free!

Unfortunately for our hero, Karma has a really bizarre sense of humor.

So it should come as a surprise to no one that when he turned back to watch where he was going, he found himself face-to-face with—no, wait, make that running right into—a man coming around the corner, going the other direction.

The last thing the infamous thief remembered seeing before he found himself kissing concrete was that his unintentional victim was wearing a gray trench coat, and that was enough to send a shiver of inner panic right through him.

But when he jumped back to his feet, he was startled to see the man he'd collided with already back on his own feet and coming back over towards him. "Are you all right? Better make sure you watch where you're going!"

A bit startled, Kid nodded. Then he noticed that evening's heist—a rather sizable emerald—was now on the sidewalk…at the man's feet. And Nakamori's goons were gaining ground. Better grab it and—

And for the second time in as many seconds, he found himself utterly gobsmacked as the man in the gray coat bent down, picked up the jewel, and _handed it back to him_. With a _smile_. "I think you dropped this, son. Wouldn't want you to lose it. It looks valuable!"

"Thank you…" Kaitou Kid replied. He really wasn't sure how to react. Crap—goon squad approaching fast! "I have to go. Have a pleasant evening!" After all, he was never one to be without manners. He then turned and sprinted on his way as the Taskforce came gallivanting up, hot on his trail.

Nakamori-keibu stopped by the man Kid had rammed into. Hunched over, panting, and sweating from exertion, he snarled at the man, "Why didn't you grab him? That man was a thief!"

"A thief?" the man in the gray trench coat looked surprised, then grinned and saluted, putting one hand at the brim of his gray hat. "Don't worry, Chief. I'll catch the crook!" And as he started to run off—in the opposite direction—he crowed back over his shoulder, "Inspector Gadget is always on duty!"

**PS.** _And Inspector Gadget is probably the only person in the world who has more gizmos and toys than Kaito…'cept Kaito's usually work right, don't they? The tune he's singing at the beginning is called "Run Away" from the Monty Python musical **Spamalot**. Thanks, everyone. Much love!_


	18. Unlikely Target

**AN:** Another MC1T LJ comm response. Whooooo…no ownie, hope you likey.

* * *

**Unlikely Target**

Kaitou KID watched the strange woman in the hat warily. "Hey."

She looked back at him. "Hello."

He found himself smiling. "I like the monochromatic thing. It's a great look."

She glanced down at her outfit, then gave him a once-over. "Thank you. I like your hat."

KID chuckled. "Thanks, yours too. Sooooo…what're you doing, exactly?"

One red-gloved hand tossed her long hair back over her shoulder. "Oh, I was just thinking about stealing that." Her other hand pointed up at the rather sizable thing in front of them.

His own eyes drifted over the appointed target. "…that's Tokyo Tower."

She folded her arms and shrugged. "And your point is?"

He shrugged in suit. "Just thought I'd point it out. So you're actually going to steal it?"

"Of course."

"Whatever you say," he waved a hand. "I don't take anything larger than my head."

_THE NEXT DAY…_

While waiting for class to start, Kuroba Kaito opened his newspaper and skimmed over the various articles. One headline jumped right out at him: _CARMEN SANDIEGO STEALS LANDMARK!_

He read quickly. Tokyo Tower had been stolen. Apparently, the infamous woman in red had made away with the famous monument during the night. And no one had heard or seen a thing.

Kaito sat back and shook his head incredulously. "Well, I'll be damned…"

* * *

**PS. **_The follow-up, of course, would be him chasing after her going, "Hey, give that back!" …and then he gets Nakamori to the spot where the Tower's supposed to be…_

_**KID:** _Observe, Keibu, I have nothing up my sleeve…(pulls out an ENORMOUS cloth)

…_I have no idea what I'm writing anymore, so I'll leave it at that. Thanks, all! (walks off singing "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego)_

**Happy Note of Evil: **Much, _much _love to **Sorako**, One Hundredth Reviewer of Awesome! Thanks for one hundred, everyone. Hope you'll stick around for another few of my romps in the weirdness patch! (does Happy Dances of Evil)_  
_


	19. Special Delivery

**AN: **I owe this to my friend John. No ownie.

* * *

**Special Delivery**

The heist had gone off without a hitch—as always, of course. And now they were having the post-heist standoff-slash-taunting. He was standing up on a retaining wall, the evening's prize tucked carefully into his jacket, watching the police scatter around below him while the crowd cheered.

It was in the middle of Nakamori's tirade—something involving a camel, popcorn, and a half-sized violin—when something flew out of the gathered female hoard and landed on Kid's hat.

He frowned slightly and glanced upwards. Not that he could see anything, but it was reflex. One gloved hand reached up and plucked the offended object from the top of his hat, bringing it down to eye-level for further examination.

It was small, and purple, and…

…oh dear.

With the…item dangling limply from one finger, he glanced down at the throng of screaming fangirls and raised an eyebrow. Ooooooookay…

With a flick of the wrist, he sent the…um, present back down into the crowd, accompanied by a shower of white rose petals. Just to give it that extra flair, and hopefully distract everyone from the fact that someone—with an extremely good arm, he noted—had decided to give him a gift.

But, he thought as he turned to make his getaway, girls throwing underwear at him was definitely a step above psychotic killers in black shooting at him.

* * *

**PS.** _A lot of people on LJ thought it was a condom. Think what you will. Hope you had a giggle. Thanks all, and a special thank you for five thousand views! Much love!_


	20. Kid Attack

**PS. **The challenge? Zoo. The result? This. I don't own Conan or Kaitou.

**Kid Attack**

She should have known something was wrong when Kaito suddenly stopped complaining about the fact that they were at a petting zoo and instead whimpered, "Aoko…help?"

Aoko stopped. Kaito _never_ asked for help. She went to look…

…and promptly fell over laughing. "How did you…?" Aoko gasped.

"Don't know, don't care, just get it off meeeeeeeeee!" he whined from his kneeling position on the hay-covered floor. Nearby, Akako was slumped against the wall, giggling uncontrollably. "It's not funny!"

"Yes it is!" she snickered. "You've been attacked by Kid!"

Meanwhile, the goat bleated as it continued calmly chewing on Kaito's hair.

* * *

**PS.** _Look, it's all drabbly! I owe Imaginator my soul for the kid/goat pun. The rest of it…no clue. Don't care. Was amused. Whee, this makes twenty Short Stacks. Hooray! Thanks for reading, all. Much love!_


	21. Good News

**AN: **Occurred to me that I hadn't posted for a week, and hadn't tossed up a new mini-fic in over a month. Which is weird, because I have quite a few of them just lying around. Oh well, here ya go. More random weirdness from me! I don't own Detective Conan.

* * *

**Good News**

No cases, no news, not even the usual Ran moping about Shinichi.

In short, it was a Really Sloooooooooow Day.

And Conan was bored. Bored, bored, boooooooooored.

So he sat and watched the dryer spin around and around and found himself vaguely wondering if the clothes were getting dizzy. It was the most entertainment he'd had all day.

Just when he was contemplating a _particularly_ interesting spot on the wall, the phone rang.

Hoping desperately for something to do, he jumped up, dove, and grabbed the receiver. "Mouri Detective Agency," he chimed automatically, crossing his fingers.

"Kudo-kun?"

He paused. "Haibara?"

Across the phone line, he heard the familiar _squeak_ of her lab chair. "I have good news."

Conan's grip on the phone tightened. "You found an antidote."

"No."

"You've got a lead on the Black Ops."

"No."

"There's a case."

"No."

"Your favorite store is having a sale?"

"…that's not it, but thank you for reminding me." He heard papers rustling, and assumed that she was fishing the ad for Chemistry Supplies 'R' Us out of the morning's newspaper.

"Okay, I give. What's the good news?" Conan demanded.

He could actually hear her smiling across the line. "Kudo-kun…"

He waited, unconsciously holding his breath.

"…I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance."

* * *

**PS.** _I presume that there is a firing squad somewhere, just waiting for me for making this joke. Much love!_


	22. Shrink Problems

**AN: **Promised this to wren-chan ages ago, and completely forgot about it! No ownie!

**Shrink Problems**

Things were getting out of control. Conan Edogawa felt like everything was slipping from his grasp: his situation, his sanity…it was all getting to be too much. Agasa and Hattori were great, but they were also his friends. He needed to talk to someone else, someone who would listen objectively and hear him out and keep his secret and maybe give him some advice as to where he could go from there.

It was for this reason that he found himself sitting on the uncomfortable chair, hands clenched in his lap. The doctor peered at him from the other side of the table with wide, curious eyes. She nodded, silently signaling for him to begin.

"Well, it started when I ran into these bad guys at an amusement park…" he began, and before he knew it, the entire story was pouring out of him: the drug, the shrink, the situation with Ran. It took a lot more time than he'd thought it would, and when he finally stopped, he looked expectantly at the doctor. "Well? What do you think?"

To his open amazement, the doctor began to…laugh. "HAHAHA! Oh, that's rich! HAHAHA! Oh boy…" She seemed to glance over Conan's shoulder. "Hey, Charlie Brown—we finally found somebody whose more wishy-washy than you!"

While Conan stared at the dark-haired girl in the blue dress, the little round-headed kid in line behind him put one hand to his forehead and shook his head. "Good grief."

Finally getting herself back under control, the alleged doctor—at least, the sign on her booth proclaimed that the doctor was in—held out a small can with an opening on the top, still wiping away tears of laughter. "That'll be five cents, please."

* * *

**PS.** _This came about as a result of an LJ comment discussion. Another weird, random crossover. I never wrote crossovers before I stepped into the Conan fandom…now they're everywhere. Thanks, all! Much love! (scampers off to write Loki/Kaitou crossover)_


	23. A Meeting of Great Minds

**AN:** Random crossover. I don't own either of these series.

**A Meeting of Great Minds**

"So let me get this straight," Kaitou KID frowned. "You're a kaitou as well."

"Yup."

"You also have a rather irritating rival."

"Yup."

"Who just so happens to be an adult trapped in a child's body?"

"Something like that."

KID nodded. "Okay, I can accept that. But there's one more thing I don't get."

"Wait—the 'adult in a kid's body' thing doesn't freak you out?"

"I'll point Shorty out to you sometime. Trust me, not much surprises me anymore."

"Fair enough. What don't you get?"

Kaitou KID looked down at the large pink blob floating beside his conversation partner and raised an eyebrow. "What's with the giant flying pig, exactly?"

Frey frowned. "Why not?"

_And then on the flip side, we've got…_

"So let me get this straight," Edogawa Conan said dubiously. "You're a detective."

"Yes, I am," the redheaded child in front of him replied. "And you are a detective as well?"

"Indeed," Conan said, unconsciously straightening up. But it was no use. Dammit, this other kid was _still_ taller than he was! "So how'd you get into this business?"

Loki shrugged. "Oh, certain circumstances beyond my control."

Conan raised an eyebrow. "You're not a real kid, are you?"

"Beg pardon?"

"You're not a normal child."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Conan reached out—and up—and gave Loki a comforting pat on the shoulder. "You're not the only one. Don't worry. Now," he smiled, nice and shark-like, "tell me about this kaitou you're chasing…"

* * *

**AN:** _There are far too many similarities between these two series (Detective Conan and Matantei Loki Ragnarok) for comfort. Fred the Mutant Pickle and I had this discussion, and it's frightening: boy detective, girl following him around, kaitous, crazy fathers, adorable secondary characters that make you go "squee!", people of various ages in love with the main character, bad guys with freaky hair styles..._

_However, Conan is not a god (no matter what Ran thinks), and Heiji is not his son…nor can Heiji turn into a giant snake. Thanks, all. Much love!_

**Mayura:** So, you're friends with a child detective too?  
**Ran:** Yeah, and I swear there's something weird about him…


	24. Smoothie Criminal

**AN: **For a request. I hereby dedicate this to my friend Kelly, my Muse of the Random. No ownie!

**Smoothie Criminal**

It was easily one of the strangest cases the Tokyo Metro Police Department had ever encountered. They'd been getting calls left and right, all with the same story: the person or family had gone through a drive-through and gotten burgers. They'd taken it home, turned their backs for a moment, and when they'd come back, their food had been filched.

After several weeks of these cases, they called in the big guns: Mouri Kogoro, detective. And right at his heels was a young boy, known as Edogawa Conan—Mouri's apprentice.

In the end, it was Conan who caught the sandwich swiper. His method was simple: he set a fast food bag out on a table, and hid. In short order, the villain appeared and attempted to make off with the meal. He was able to jump out and make the collar, catching the thief red-handed—literally, because the criminal was so surprised that he squeezed a ketchup packet and it exploded in his palm.

After the police were called, Conan's phone rang. It was Hattori, and Conan wasted no time in telling him the basic facts of this latest case, in all its bizarre glory.

"You're kidding me," Hattori said after hearing the story. "So whose your guy?"

Conan glanced over at the odd-looking culprit: a man in a black and white striped outfit, with a cape, a wide-brimmed hat, a mask over his eyes, and a red burger-print tie. "Have you ever heard of someone named Hamburgler?"

* * *

**PS.** _I'm probably carbon-dating myself here, but those were some great McDonald's commercials back in the day. I was personally partial to the Fry Kids, m'self. Thanks, all! Much love!_


	25. Fluff

**AN: **As part of a request meme—this one is for the uber-awesome Fyliwion. I don't own Detective Conan. _THE REQUEST: _Kaito/Aoko, reeking of fluff.

**Fluff**

Aoko stared.

She had opened her bedroom door, planning to go inside and grab a DVD. Kaito was hanging out downstairs, and they were going to watch a movie; he'd come over to hang out in celebration of her womb-leaving anniversary. What she found was…well, unexpected, to say the least.

The big teddy bear sitting right inside the doorway holding a card that said "Happy Birthday, Aoko!" in Kaito's handwriting was one thing. She appreciated that—the plushie was adorable. She would have to thank him for it when she got back downstairs, possibly with a kiss.

She did, however, have an issue with the fact that behind the bear, her room seemed to be filled, from floor to ceiling, with what looked like cotton balls. There was no way she was going to be able to set foot into her room until that was cleared out.

"AOKO!" Kaito called loudly from downstairs; she could hear the smirk in his voice. "What's taking so long? Problem?"

Yeah…she would kiss him and thank him for the teddy bear.

Then she would kill him. Probably with a mop.

Definitely a love-hate relationship. But it worked for them.

* * *

**PS.** _Fluff? Plushies? Cotton balls? GET IT? (is shot) Thanks…for…reading… (dies)_


	26. Confrontation

**AN: **Written for a friend's request of "Gin and his Handgun of Evil." So…here it is. Enjoy! No ownie.

**Confrontation**

Gin stared in shock. He couldn't believe it.

Several meters away, his handgun clattered to the pavement. It skidded a few more inches, than came to rest. His handgun—his weapon of choice, his constant companion, his partner in his Quest for All Evil—had been knocked from his hand by a single shot from an FBI agent.

Granted, he'd been searching for this particular agent—with intent to kill, of course. But he had definitely not been expecting said agent to be such a crack-shot. And now Gin found himself on the business end of a very steady gun.

"It's over, you monster," the agent said, grinning. "You're done."

Gin swallowed hard…and smirked. "That's what you think."

The FBI agent had no time to react before he was suddenly engulfed in a tight cocoon of something gold; it shot out of nowhere and wrapped around him with unimaginable speed. In seconds, the offending agent had vanished from sight.

Still grinning evilly to himself, Gin waited patiently until his hair finished devouring the hapless man, and retracted back into his head until it was back at its appropriate length. Evil length.

As he turned away from the site of the agent's death with the intent of picking up his Handgun of Evil, going back to his Evil Car and getting the hell out of there, a tiny belch was heard coming from beneath his black hat.

Of evil.

* * *

**PS.** _Why will people not let the joke (of Evil) die? Fred the Mutant Pickle, I blame YOU! Oh well—hope you enjoyed this odd little fic. Thanks, all! Much evil love!_


	27. Overhearing

**AN: **Wow…haven't updated this in a while. My bad :) I return with a nice, silly one for ya. Enjoy! I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaitou—Gosho Aoyama owns them both. I'm just borrowing them.

**Overhearing…**

Hakuba couldn't believe his ears.

He shouldn't be eavesdropping on this, but…he couldn't pull away. Instead, he stood by the door and listened to the conversation occurring within—an little chat between Kuroba and Aoko.

"Good grief, it's huge!" Aoko yelped.

"Impressive, ain't it?" Kuroba said, a hint of pride in his voice.

"…I'm not sure I can get my mouth around that."

"Naw, you'll be fine. Just ease it in."

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me. Here, just have a taste."

"…hey, what's the white stuff?"

"Oh, it's good. Promise."

"Well, okay…here I go…" Aoko said hesitantly.

Enough was enough. Hakuba ran away screaming.

The door opened, and Kaito and Aoko (both fully clothed, thank you very much) peered out in time to see their friend's retreating back. "What's with Hakuba?" Aoko asked, munching on a large carrot.

Kaito dipped his celery stick into the bowl of ranch dressing. "I have no idea."

* * *

**PS.** _Written on a prompt from…someone. I can't remember who. Thanks for reading, all! Much love!_


	28. In Search of the Golden Apple

**AN: **Wow, been a while since I posted here! But I scratched out this crossover between Magic Kaito and the Nintendo DS game _Professor Layton and the Curious Village_, and thought this would be a good place to post it. This does have some spoilers for the game. I don't own either!

* * *

**In Search of the Golden Apple**

From the air, the village of St. Mystere seemed rather charming. It was just your average quiet, quaint village in the English countryside. Nothing really extraordinary about it, save for the enormous, oddly-shaped tower stretching up in the middle of it. It was quite a sight; it bent at strange angles, and looked rather like a child had taken some plastic buildings and haphazardly melted them together in the bizarre ritual of a future pyromaniac.

Whoever the architect was on that piece of work was either brilliant and light years ahead of his time…or on massive quantities of psychedelic drugs. The jury was still out on that.

Kaitou Kid pondered the tower as he flew towards it. It seemed the best place to land, as most of the other buildings in the town were very small. From there, he could make his way down into the village proper and see about the treasure that was said to hide there.

A few days earlier, two high school students from Japan (Nakamori Aoko and Kuroba Kaito) had arrived in England to visit a friend of theirs, Hakuba Saguru, who had been a student at their school.

Upon their arrival, they had heard a story being passed around by many of the locals. In a small, isolated village, the local leader (one Baron Reinhold) had passed away. And it seemed the town was in an uproar over the contents of the Baron's will, for he was a very wealthy man. The will had proclaimed that the entirety of his fortune would go to the one who found the Golden Apple, his greatest treasure, which was hidden somewhere in the village. According to the stories, the entire town was searching for the reputed treasure.

Aoko had frowned and made a comment questioning the Baron's mental state at the time of his death.

Hakuba had agreed with her.

Kaito's Sparklie Radar had pinged.

It had taken some doing to sneak away from his friends, but he had managed. And his claim had more or less ensured that he—or rather, the dummy left in his place—would be left alone. The threat of the smell alone would keep people at bay.

It was embarrassing, but no one said being a world-class phantom thief was all glamour.

After some careful consideration, he had decided not to send a heist note. First of all, it would be more ammo for Hakuba to use against him, and he just didn't want to give the detective that satisfaction. The half-Brit could be so annoying when something proved him right. And secondly, something told him that there was more to the story than initially met the eye—or ear, as it were.

So he opted for secrecy, assuming that things would reveal themselves.

The name of it was bothering him, though. The Golden Apple. At first glance, it seemed that it would be merely an apple cast out of gold. But there were many other connotations associated with such a thing. In Greek mythology, Eris rolled the Golden Apple of Discord into a banquet of the gods, inscribed with the words "For the fairest," an act of bitterness which set in motion a series of events that ultimately triggered the Trojan War.

It would be interesting to see what kind of Golden Apple was awaiting him in St. Mystere.

But for the moment, he needed to focus; he was in position now. He collapsed the glider and dropped the meter or so to the platform at the top of the strange tower. Straightening, he quickly brushed himself off and looked around. The view up there would have incredible…if the place hadn't been surrounded by a thick mass of black, swirling clouds.

Doubly strange, considering that the rest of the sky had been sunny.

Even more odd was the fact that there was a cottage crowning the structure. And it did not seem to be any hermit's shack, either, as might have been expected. It was large, and in extremely good condition. It looked more like someone's summer vacation home than anything else.

With a shrug, he slipped inside and peered around. His initial impression from the outside had proven to be correct, but something of an understatement. The interior of the house was lavishly decorated, and definitely fit for a king or queen. His trained eye glanced around and began trying to estimate the value of the various furnishings and decorations.

If he was right, there was enough money imbedded in the entryway alone to put him through college three times, and still have enough left over to pay for his first car. Whoever lived here (or at the very least whoever had built the place) was definitely not impoverished.

And he again thought of what he had heard of the late Baron. He was to have been a wealthy man.

Perhaps the Golden Apple was hidden here? It seemed an appropriate place for Reinhold to have hidden his greatest treasure. The house itself seemed quite accustomed to fine things, and the setting of the house assured that no random strangers were just going to waltz in.

Unless those random strangers knew how to fly, of course.

As he moved into the house, he heard footsteps coming towards him. One hand instinctively moved to the pocket that held his card gun as he whipped around, knees bent in preparation to run if need be.

"Who are you?" a soft female voice asked.

The person who moved into view—the source of the footsteps—appeared to be a young woman. She couldn't have been any older than Kaitou Kid himself. Still, it was hard to tell for certain; she wore a scarf over her head, and glasses that obscured what seemed to be pretty features.

She clasped her hands demurely in front of her. "Who are you?" she repeated her question.

Manners took over, and Kaitou Kid executed a courtly bow. "Ah, I beg your pardon, Miss," he said, pulling a white rose from midair and offering it to her. "I am searching for something."

"The Golden Apple," she said knowingly; still, she took the rose with the very faintest of smiles. "Did you come through the puzzle doors?"

"Eh?"

"The doors in the towers," she insisted.

"I didn't come up through the tower," he admitted. This town seemed to be getting more and more odd with every new thing he heard about it.

"How did you get here, then?"

"I flew."

For a moment, he thought she was going to accuse him of insanity. But instead, she simply nodded. "I see. I've been watching the village. I hadn't seen you here before." She sighed and tilted her head to the side. "There have been a lot of outsiders in our village lately. They're searching for the Apple. I think the detective is the one who will find it—"

"A detective?" Kid's head snapped up. "Is he wearing glasses?"

"No," she shook her head. "A top hat."

"Ah." Suddenly, he wanted to meet this rumored detective. He obviously had excellent fashion taste.

"Again, who are you?" she said.

"A thief," he admitted. "I came to search for the Golden Apple."

She might have flushed under her scarf and glasses; it was hard to tell. "I'm afraid it's not something one can walk off with so easily. I know of the Golden Apple, but I don't know a great deal about the will or where my father's treasure is hidden—"

"Your father?" Kid interjected, not intending to be rude. Definitely a strange town.

She put both her hands over her mouth and took a step back, as though she had said something wicked.

It took a moment for him to add up all the pieces he had been handed in the course of this conversation, and he invariably arrived at one conclusion. "I see…" he smiled, despite the fact that there weren't any shinies for him to take. Still, his instinct had been right—there was more to the story than what the gossips were wagging about. And he was glad he had opted to not send the note. "Well, I apologize for the intrusion, Miss. I will take my leave. Have a pleasant evening."

With a bow, he took a step towards the door, but paused when he felt something solid under his foot. He looked down, and noticed a slight bulge in the rug, as though something were beneath it. Taken with his normal curiosity, he stooped and lifted a corner of the rug…

And found a small coin.

Straightening, he turned to her and held it out. "Ah, Miss, I believe you dropped this."

She waved a hand. "You keep it."

"But I couldn't take money from—"

"It's not money."

"It's not?"

"No. It's a hint coin."

Kid blinked. "A hint coin."

"Yes. It will help you solve the puzzles."

"…well, all right then."

It was official. St. Mystere was _weird._

* * *

**PS.** _I finished playing this game, and it just screamed for a crossover, as well as at least one fic of its own. I think I gave Flora a little more personality than she has in the game…but we see her for all of ALMOST NO TIME AT ALL. I think we'll get to see more of her in the second game, though hopehopehope Thanks for reading, all! Much love!_


	29. Pretty Pretty Princess

**AN: **This was written for Gracie on my LJ with a prompt of "J is for jewel theft." I hope you enjoy it. I don't own DC/MK. Thanks for reading!

**Pretty Pretty Princess**

Having friends over to play was an essential part of growing up, and Nakamori Aoko was no exception. Hence, the invitations extended to several of the other little girls in her class to come over to her house and play for a while one Sunday afternoon.

They played many of the games that little girls will play, as well as some that many little girls do not play (Aoko quietly hoped that her father would not get too upset about the state of the garden and the dirt on the floor), and now they were sitting on the floor in the living room playing a board game.

Aoko was still a bit leery, though. When she had mentioned this afternoon play date to Kaito, he had gotten that look about him. She knew that look. It rarely boded anything good for her. Even in the short time she had known him, she had seen that look quite a few times. It meant that he was planning something.

But he hadnt shown up to make trouble for her yet. So either he had decided to not screw things up for her (unlikely), or he just hadnt shown up to do it yet (very likely).

After a few rounds of things like Sorry and a few card games, they found the Pretty Pretty Princess box on the shelf in the closet. Being at an age when becoming a princess was still a very valid dream, they opted to play it immediately.

But upon opening the box, they made a rather startling discovery. Namely, all the rings and necklaces and pieces of jewelry that were supposed to be part of the game were missing.

Aoko was confused. The jewelry pieces had all been there the last time she had played this game. She remembered how silly her father had looked in the crown (he was a good dad). So where in the world had they gone?

Shrugging it off, they found another game to play.

It wasnt until the next day that Aoko got her answer. She walked to school with Kaito, as usual, but said nothing about the odd disappearance of the jewelry from the board game. Kaito, for his part, was acting much his normal self. In other words, teasing her mercilessly about anything and everything he could think of. And she snapped back.

Morning ritual and all.

At school, she slipped her shoes off to put them away in her locker. It was there that she got a big surprise. Either her locker had decided to rob a vending machine, or someone else had been in there.

For sitting in the locker, laid out on top of her school shoes in a surprisingly tasteful display, were all the colored jewelry pieces from her game. The earrings were taped to the sides of the locker, and the crown took pride of place in the very center.

Aoko stared. How in the world had that

But then she realized that she didnt really have to ask. She knew.

Especially when Kaito peered over her shoulder and made a comment about the prettiest princess at the party, and Aoko grabbed one of her school shoes and proceeded to commit attempted murder with it.


End file.
